All AIDS patients in Brazil can receive free drug treatment - a program that now reaches 223,000 people and costs the nation nearly $700 million a year.

Health officials have said they believe there are another 250,000 Brazilians infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. But nobody knows for certain because up to now HIV cases haven't been tracked. Officials hope earlier treatment will prolong patients' lives.

Nearly 241,500 people died of AIDS in Brazil from 1980 to 2010.

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